DOCSLIB.ORG

Synagogue Art, Significance and Impact

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Synagogue Art, Significance and Impact CHAPTER FIVE SYNAGOGUE ART, SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT Following the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem (70 CE), the strict rabbinical attitudes regard- ing Jewish art began to give way to greater tolerance. The art of the Second Temple period is purely uniconic; no figurative designs are depicted, probably due to the prohibition of the second of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:4–5; Deuteronomy 5:8–9). Archaeological evidence also confirms that during the Second Temple period representations of animate beings were avoided (Hachlili 1988:65–83, 103–119; 1998:237–8). A major, conceptual change occurred in Jewish art in Late Antiquity, at the end of the 2nd cen- tury CE, and particularly during the 3rd and 4th centuries CE. Representational art began to flourish and figurative art played an extensive and essential part. This development is all the more surpris- ing in light of the previous attitude to animate art. The changes, reflected in Talmudic literature, were the result of political, economic, and social circumstances. The Jews of this period no longer feared idolatry. The leading rabbis emphasized the latter part of the Commandment, “You shall not bow down to them or serve them”, and tended to enforce the prohibition only where the danger of idolatry was present. During the Late Antique period the Jews developed their own figurative and imagery art, acquired customs and decorative elements from the surrounding cultures, and also adopted pagan motifs— figures, birds, and animals—in synagogue and funerary art. The Jewish figurative repertoire includes animal and human motifs, biblical narrative scenes, and a few mythological designs and other themes, used in the decoration of mosaic pavements. Similar themes appear in Jewish poetry. The Jewish attitude to art was basically decorative, to add beauty and ornamentation to their buildings (Hachlili 2009:17–22). Jewish religious leaders were probably permitting iconic depictions by the 2nd or 3rd century CE. Representational decoration and the sources testify to a policy of religious pragmatism and avoid- ance of the formulation of binding teachings. Scholars have considered the relationship between the second of the Ten Commandments and its visual application in Judaism (Urbach 1959:204; Gutmann 1971b; 1984a:1328–1330; Avi-Yonah 1973:133; Avigad 1976:280–284; Kraeling 1979:343–345). Blidstein (1973:19–24) surveys Tannaitic teachings regarding plastic art and maintains that “the rabbis were quite aware of the difference between an image that was worshipped and one that served a deco- rative function alone.” Rabbinical evidence suggests that figurative art was tolerated if it did not encourage cultic worship. Furthermore, no Jewish law forbids the depiction of religious subjects. On the contrary, they were allowed. The floor of the synagogue became an important location for elaborate mosaic decorations between the 4th and 7th centuries CE. Often a mosaic pavement was planned as one framed unit, divided geometrically into panels. The symbolic and iconographic themes on early synagogue mosaic pavements of the 4th–5th centuries contrasted with contemporary uniconic Christian mosaic art, and were a means of emphasizing the difference between the Jewish and Christian notions of mosaic pavement ornamentation. The theory accepted by most scholars is that pagan motifs used in Jewish representational art lost their original, symbolic, idolatrous significance and evolved into purely ornamental motifs (Avigad 1976:282, 285; Avi-Yonah 1973:126). Certain pagan mythological and symbolic motifs were acquired 224 chapter five by the Jews through Jewish legends and Midrashic literature; however, the vast majority of the appro- priated pagan motifs were simply a means of decoration that added beauty and embellishment to a structure. 1. Architectural Ornamentation The Galilean and Golan synagogues, as well as a few others, are extensively adorned with ornate exterior façades, in addition to impressive ornamentation and other architectural decorations within the prayer hall itself. Further artistic embellishments include pavements decorated with mosaics, which became the major adornment of the synagogue hall during the fourth to seventh centuries CE, though some synagogues had stone slab floors while others used plaster to floor the halls. Mosaic pavements depicting figurative images came into vogue during the fourth century CE. Extensively adorned and richly ornamented exterior façades characterize Galilean and Golan syn- agogues and some others as well, suggesting that the synagogue was meant to impress and to attract attention. The architectural ornamentation consists of relief work on lintels, gables and arches, archi- traves, friezes, capitals, and pedestals. The synagogue of Capernaum, for example, which is built and decorated in white limestone, must have been impressively conspicuous among the black basalt buildings surrounding it. The interior is usually kept quite plain, except at Capernaum and Korazin where a rich inner frieze decorates the hall’s upper story. The northern group of Galilean and Golan synagogues exhibit considerable uniformity in their limestone and basalt construction, architectural plan, and, primarily, in their richly ornamented por- tals and façades, which differ from those of synagogues in other parts of the Land of Israel. 1.1 Ornate Façade of Galilean and Golan Synagogues Three distinct lintel and doorjamb ornamentation types exist in the entrance-frames of these syna- gogue facades: Types A and B are characteristic of Galilean synagogues whereas Type C typifies the Golan synagogues and Korazim (Hachlili 1988:200–206; 1989:1). Type A consists of ornate portals with a molded stone lintel usually decorated on the face, the upper part forming a torus-like decorated frieze. The lintel was supported by two undecorated, molded, monolithic doorposts (Figs. V-1a, 2). This type is found at: the Arbel synagogue main entrance on a b c Figure V-1. Synagogue façade entrance-frames, Types A, B, C..
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Secular Music of the Yemenite Jews As an Expression of Cultural Demarcation Between the Sexes
    JASO 27/2 (1996): 113-135 THE SECULAR MUSIC OF THE YEMENITE JEWS AS AN EXPRESSION OF CULTURAL DEMARCATION BETWEEN THE SEXES MARILYN HERMAN JEWISH men and women in Yemen are portrayed in the sociological and anthropo­ logical literature as having lived in separate conceptual and spatial worlds. As a result, two very separate bodies of song existed, one pertaining to men and the other to women. In this paper, I show how the culturally defined demarcation be­ tween the sexes is reflected and epitomized in the music of the Jews who lived in Yemen. i The key to this separation lies in the fact that women were banned from the synagogue altogether. This exclusion is not prescribed by Jewish law, and there is no precedent for it in the Bible or other Jewish literature or communities. The reason given for women being banned from the synagogue in Yemen was the fear that they might be menstruating. The condition of menstruation is, in Jewish law, This paper is based on my MA thesis (Herman 1985), which was written under the supervision and with the moral and academic support of Dr P. T. W. Baxter of Manchester University. My brother Geoffrey Herman willingly and painstakingly translated Hebrew articles into English for my benefit while I was writing this thesis. I. The period mainly referred to is the fifty years or so preceding 'Operation Magic Carpet', a series of airlifts between 1949 and 1950 in which the majority of Yemenite Jews were taken to Israel. 114 Marilyn Herman seen as ritually impure.
    [Show full text]
  • Books in the Treasury
    Books in the Treasury I went forth unto the treasury of Laban. And as I went forth towards the treasury of Laban, behold, I saw the servant of Laban who had the keys of the treasury. And I commanded him in the voice of Laban, that he should go with me into the treasury. And he supposed me to be his master, Laban, for he beheld the garments and also the sword girded about my loins. And he spake unto me concerning the elders of the Jews, he knowing that his master, Laban, had been out by night among them. And I spake unto him as if it had been Laban. And I also spake unto him that I should carry the engravings, which were upon the plates of brass, to my elder brethren, who were without the walls. (1 Nephi 4:20–24) The earliest records possessed by the Nephites were the brass plates brought from Jerusalem. These plates had been kept in “the treasury of Laban,” whence Nephi retrieved them. The concept of keeping books in a treasury, while strange to the modern mind, was a common practice anciently, and the term often denoted what we would today call a library. Ezra 5:17–6:2 speaks of a “treasure house” containing written records. The Aramaic word rendered “treasure” in this passage is ginzayyâ, from the root meaning “to keep, hide” in both Hebrew and Aramaic. In Esther 3:9 and 4:7, the Hebrew word of the same origin is used to denote a treasury where money is kept.
    [Show full text]
  • High-Priestly Vestments and the Jerusalem Temple in Flavius Josephus
    AnnetteWeissenrieder Aroadmap to heaven: High-priestly vestments and the Jerusalem Temple in Flavius Josephus In this chapter,Iexamine the architecture of the Jerusalem temple and of priest- ly vestments as loci of religious innovation, which were embedded in Josephus’ complex political and religious agenda.Ialso offer an exploration of Josephus’ ekphrastic treatment of the architectural complexities of the First and Second Temple and the vestments of the priests and high priests. As Imaintain, not only do the priestly and high priestlyvestments represent the Jewish cult of pu- rity,and reflect the orderofthe cosmos to summon the presenceofGod as cre- ator of heaven and earth, but they are alsoofgreat political significance. “When the Romans entered on the government [of Judea], they took possession of the vestments of the highpriest,and […]the captain of the guard lights alamp there every day”.¹ This is the description givenbythe Jewishhistorian Flavius Josephus² of the special vestments worn by the high priests when they enter the HolyofHolies once ayear,onthe DayofAtonement.The highpriesthood was the most important institution of Judaism with regardtoreligious life and governmental powers.Since the Hasmonean John Hyrcanos I(134–104 BCE), the highpriest’svestments had been laid up at the tower on the north sideof the temple.³ Seven days before the festival the vestments were delivered to the priestsand after having purified the vestments, the high priests madeuse of them. The tower was rebuilt by Herod, who named the tower ‘Antonia’ in honour of his friend Marcus Antonius, and the garments were kept there during his reign, as well as thatofhis son Archelaos until Judea came under the direct con- trol of the Romanadministration (4BCE-6CE; AJ 18.93).
    [Show full text]
  • Temple Ideology in the Writings of Jewish Alexandria
    TEMPLE IDEOLOGY IN THE WRITINGS OF JEWISH ALEXANDRIA by PHILIP HAROLD EDWARD SCRIBER III (Under the Direction of David S. Williams) ABSTRACT This paper attempts to demonstrate the ways in which Philo and the writers of 3 Maccabees, the Letter of Aristeas and the Wisdom of Solomon used the tools of Greek philosophy and Jewish culture. After a summary of the social and literary relationship of the Alexandrian community to Jerusalem and the Temple there, a close reading of the four authors' works reveals the ways which the idea of Temple ties the Jews to their brethren in Palestine and to the Greek world which surrounded them. INDEX WORDS: Alexandria, Judaism, Temple, Jerusalem, 3 Maccabees, Philo, Aristeas, Wisdom of Solomon, Platonism, Stoicism TEMPLE IDEOLOGY IN THE WRITINGS OF JEWISH ALEXANDRIA by PHILIP HAROLD EDWARD SCRIBER III B.A., Berry College, 2003 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF ARTS ATHENS, GEORGIA 2009 © 2009 Philip Scriber III All Rights Reserved TEMPLE IDEOLOGY IN THE WRITINGS OF JEWISH ALEXANDRIA by PHILIP HAROLD EDWARD SCRIBER III Major Professor: David Williams Committee: Carolyn Jones-Medine Sandy Martin Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia December 2009 iv DEDICATION To J. May this be worthy of your faith in me. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................1
    [Show full text]
  • The Lord Is There: Christian Views of the Temple in the First Century AD
    LIBERTY UNIVERSITY THE LORD IS THERE: CHRISTIAN ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE TEMPLE IN THE FIRST CENTURY BY JONATHAN WELLS MASTER’S THESIS SUBMITTED TO DR. RANDALL PRICE IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE COMPLETION OF MA IN PHILOSOPHICAL STUDIES, BIBLICAL STUDIES MAY 7, 2014 1 INTRODUCTION Throughout the entirety of the Scriptures the temple and its service has been held in reverence as the worship of the one true God. From the very beginning to the last passages of Revelation the temple is a central theme. Yeshua (Jesus) taught in the temple and went to it for the principle feasts. After the resurrection, the disciples continued to meet there and even Paul showed reverence towards the temple by worshiping and sacrificing there. Also, the eschatological views of the New Testament were highly influenced by those of the Hebrew Scriptures and focused heavily on Jerusalem and the temple. So the Christians of the first century, both Jew and Gentile, held the temple in very high regard and viewed it as the legitimate dwelling place of God on earth. Even after the tearing of the veil, the resurrection and the destruction of the temple,1 the earliest followers of the messiah still viewed it as a legitimate institution that would be present in the latter days. Statement of the Problem According to the Gospels, Yeshua worshiped at the temple during all the principle feasts (John 2:13, 7, 10:22 etc.). Indeed if he would have done otherwise, he would have been breaking the commandments found in the Torah and therefore would not have been considered a perfect sacrifice.
    [Show full text]
  • Holy Jewish Texts and Teachings About Peace
    Holy Jewish Texts and Teachings About Peace By Rabbi Pam Frydman © copyright 2019. All rights reserved. To request permission to reprint any part of this paper, please email rabbipam.be@gmail Peace is an elusive phenomenon that is, or may be, desired by those who have no appetite for armed conflict. Peace is especially desirable by people for whom the world is better when they are not in danger of armed conflict. However, even soldiers and sailors on active duty may wish for peace. One of the important paths to peace is through understanding. This purpose of this chapter is to provide an introduction to core Jewish texts and examples of some of the Jewish views found in these texts on the subject of peace and understanding. TANAKH – HEBREW BIBLE – JEWISH HOLY SCRIPTURES The Hebrew Bible is called Tanakh.1 Tanakh is an acronym. “T” stands for Torah, meaning “Teachings”, and refers to the first five booKs of the TanaKh, which contain the stories of creation, the founders of the Jewish faith, the exodus from slavery, and the forty years of wandering in the wilderness. Interspersed among the stories in the Torah are 613 commandments called mitz- vot that formed the original basis of Judaism. “N” stands for Nevi-im, meaning “Prophets”, and contains eight books of prophecy, stories and legends. “K” stands for Ketuvim, meaning “Writings”, and contains eleven books that include history, parables, philosophy and poetry. Each of the booKs in the TanaKh are described in the final section of this chapter, entitled, “Books of the Tanakh”. 1 Tanakh is also spelled Tanach.
    [Show full text]
  • Christian Attitudes Toward the Jews in the Earliest Centuries A.D
    Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Dissertations Graduate College 8-2007 Christian Attitudes toward the Jews in the Earliest Centuries A.D. S. Mark Veldt Western Michigan University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations Part of the History of Christianity Commons, and the History of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Veldt, S. Mark, "Christian Attitudes toward the Jews in the Earliest Centuries A.D." (2007). Dissertations. 925. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations/925 This Dissertation-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CHRISTIAN ATTITUDES TOWARD THE JEWS IN THE EARLIEST CENTURIES A.D. by S. Mark Veldt A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of History Dr. Paul L. Maier, Advisor Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan August 2007 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHRISTIAN ATTITUDES TOWARD THE JEWS IN THE EARLIEST CENTURIES A.D. S. Mark Veldt, PhD . Western Michigan University, 2007 This dissertation examines the historical development of Christian attitudes toward the Jews up to c. 350 A.D., seeking to explain the origin and significance of the antagonistic stance of Constantine toward the Jews in the fourth century. For purposes of this study, the early Christian sources are divided into four chronological categories: the New Testament documents (c.
    [Show full text]
  • Studying the Bible: the Tanakh and Early Christian Writings
    Kansas State University Libraries New Prairie Press NPP eBooks Monographs 2019 Studying the Bible: The Tanakh and Early Christian Writings Gregory Eiselein Kansas State University Anna Goins Kansas State University Naomi J. Wood Kansas State University Follow this and additional works at: https://newprairiepress.org/ebooks Part of the Biblical Studies Commons This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License Recommended Citation Eiselein, Gregory; Goins, Anna; and Wood, Naomi J., "Studying the Bible: The Tanakh and Early Christian Writings" (2019). NPP eBooks. 29. https://newprairiepress.org/ebooks/29 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Monographs at New Prairie Press. It has been accepted for inclusion in NPP eBooks by an authorized administrator of New Prairie Press. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Studying the Bible: The Tanakh and Early Christian Writings Gregory Eiselein, Anna Goins, and Naomi J. Wood Kansas State University Copyright © 2019 Gregory Eiselein, Anna Goins, and Naomi J. Wood New Prairie Press, Kansas State University Libraries Manhattan, Kansas Cover design by Anna Goins Cover image by congerdesign, CC0 https://pixabay.com/photos/book-read-bible-study-notes-write-1156001/ Electronic edition available online at: http://newprairiepress.org/ebooks This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 International (CC-BY NC 4.0) License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Publication of Studying the Bible: The Tanakh and Early Christian Writings was funded in part by the Kansas State University Open/Alternative Textbook Initiative, which is supported through Student Centered Tuition Enhancement Funds and K-State Libraries.
    [Show full text]
  • Sacred Sites in the Holy Land: Historical and Religious Perspectives
    This project is funded by the European Union Sacred Sites in the Holy Land: Historical and Religious Perspectives ©Copyright IHJR 2011 This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union. Published by The Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation (IHJR) Laan van Meerdervoort 70 2517 AN, The Hague, The Netherlands © IHJR 2011 All rights reserved ISBN 978-94-91145-02-5 Copy-editing: Hilmara Requena Book design: Linda Germanis Copyright© 2011 Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. The IHJR has made all reasonable efforts to trace all rights holders to any copyrighted material used in this work. In cases where these efforts have not been successful the publisher welcomes communications from copyright holders, so that the appropriate acknowledgements can be made in future editions, and to settle other permission matters. P r e fa c e As Executive Director of the Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation, I am pleased to present the following case studies of three sacred sites in the Middle East. The work contained in this report represents an overview of historical and religious perspectives on these specific sites. The Sacred Sites project represents a multi‐year joint effort initiated and conducted by two leading scholars, an Israeli, Yitzhak Reiter and a Palestinian expert* who produced substantial work.
    [Show full text]
  • Green Pilgrim Theology in Jewish Tradition
    Green Pilgrim Theology in Jewish Tradition Draft for the Green Pilgrim Cities Network, Alliance for Religions and Conservation, (ARC) July, 2011, Rabbi Yedidya Sinclair Executive Summary Pilgrimage, aliyah l'regel, was a central practice in Judaism almost from its origins. The Bible declares three times, "three times a year shall all of your males appear before the Lord your God. (Exodus: 23:17; 34:23; Deuteronomy, 16:16). This tradition contuse today. In 2010, 4 million overseas visitors came to Jerusalem. There were 8 million individual visits to the Western Wall, the principal Jewish religious site. This statement, drafted at the invitation of the Alliance for Religions and Conservation's Green Pilgrim Cities Network considers how Jewish pilgrims and pilgrimage sites today should manage aliya l'regel so as to minimize its negative environmental impact. Jewish tradition contains a wealth of environmental wisdom and ethics avoiding waste and wanton destruction, (ba'al taschit) and acting in a way that reflects God's role as Creator and our responsibility to be wise stewards of creation. Jews should live up to these requirements in all they do, especially when engaged on a religious journey. In addition, traditional Jewish sources about the ancient pilgrimage experience to Jerusalem were acutely conscious of the environmental dimension of the pilgrimage – its potential impact on public health, safety and the aesthetics of the city. (Mishnah Avot, 5:1) They describe the beauty of Jerusalem. (Talmud, Sukkah 52a), the spiritual grandeur of the pilgrimage (Mishnah, Bikkurim, 3:3-4 ) and show a keen awareness of how the influx of many thousands of pilgrims risked defiling the city with dirt, stench, disease and commercial exploitation.
    [Show full text]
  • The Old Testament, Second Edition Michael D. Coogan Glossary of Terms
    The Old Testament, Second Edition Michael D. Coogan Glossary of terms acrostic A text in which the opening letters of successive lines form a word, phrase, or pattern. The acrostics in the Bible are poems in which the first letters of successive lines or stanzas are the letters of the Hebrew alphabet in order. Ammonites Israel’s neighbors east of the Jordan River. The Ammonites are the “sons of Ammon,” who according to Genesis 19 were the offspring of Lot by one of his daughters. Their name is preserved in the modern city of Amman, Jordan. angel A word of Greek origin originally meaning messenger. In the Bible, these are supernatural beings sent by God to humans. anthropomorphic (anthropomorphism) The attribution of human characteristics to a nonhuman being, usually a deity. apocalyptic A genre of literature in which details concerning the end-time are revealed by a heavenly messenger or angel. Apocrypha Jewish religious writings of the Hellenistic and Roman periods that are not considered part of the Bible by Jews and Protestants, but are part of the canons of Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches, who also call them the deuterocanonical books. apodictic law A type of law characterized by absolute or general commands or prohibitions, as in the Ten Commandments. It is often contrasted with casuistic law. Aramaic A language originating in ancient Syria that in the second half of the first millennium BCE became used widely throughout the Near East. Parts of the books of Daniel and Ezra are written in Aramaic. ark of the covenant The religious symbol of the premonarchic confederation of the twelve tribes of Israel, later installed in the Temple in Jerusalem by Solomon in the tenth century BCE.
    [Show full text]
  • A. the Tanak As the Foundation of Judaism
    A. THE TANAK AS THE FOUNDATION OF JUDAISM THE TANAK, OR THE JEWISH BIBLE, stands as the quintessential foundation for Jewish life, identity, practice, and thought from antiquity through contemporary times. The five books of the Torah, or the Instruction of G-d to the Jewish people and the world at large, constitute the foundation of the Tanak. According to Jewish tradition (Exod 19—Num 10), the Torah was revealed to the nation Israel at Mount Sinai while the people were journeying from Egypt through the wilderness of Sinai on their way to return to the land of Israel to take up residence in the land promised by G-d to their ancestors, Abraham and Sarah; Isaac and Rebecca; Jacob, Rachel and Leah; and the twelve sons of Jacob. The four books of the Nevi’im Rishonim, or the Former Prophets, provide an account of Israel’s life in the land from the time of the conquest under Joshua until the time of the Babylonian exile, when Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed and Jews were exiled to Babylonia and elsewhere in the world. The four books of the Nevi’im Ahronim, or the Latter Prophets, provide an assessment of the reasons why G-d chose to exile Jews from the land of Israel and the scenarios by which G-d would choose to restore Jews to the land of Israel once the exile was completed. The eleven books of the Ketuvim, or the Writings, include a variety of books of different form and purpose that address various aspects of Jewish worship, critical thought, future expectations, history, and life in the world, both in the land of Israel and beyond.
    [Show full text]